Thursday, January 12, 2017

Hunting and Collecting Rogue One Action Figures From the Past (Part 1)

(Warning: this article contains spoilers about Rogue One)

Rebellions are built on hope...but action figure collections are built on hunting and research!

The official Rogue One Darth Vader

Whether you’re playing with them or making a diorama, there are some important characters from Rogue One that unfortunately won’t be available in Rogue One action figure form anytime soon. Other than Darth Vader and stormtroopers, Hasbro is currently focused on toys based on the brand new characters exclusive to Rogue One. Jyn Erso, Cassian Andor, K2-SO and others are available now and the new figures look terrific!

Some key characters however are not officially planned to be released as “Rogue One” action figures... but wait, there’s good news!

Many Rogue One characters have already been available for quite some time and in most cases are pretty easily accessible at your local comic/collector shops or online.

Since Rogue One is so closely connected to 1977’s Star Wars Episode IV A New Hope Hasbro (and previously Kenner) have been making action figures that work perfectly with Rogue One for a long, long time!

photo by Rebelscum.com

Here’s a look at some of the Rogue One characters that have been available to play with, in one case, since 1978!

One of the very first Star Wars characters ever made into an action figure was Princess Leia in her iconic “star puffs” (buns) hairdo and white robes. Since then there have been many action figure versions of her sporting that look. Most of them are pretty good, some are downright awful. One of the best versions of her for Rogue One play is from 2000 (seen in close-up here) but it can get a little expensive on the collector's market.

photo by Rebelscum.com

A very reasonably-priced alternative would be the 2015 "Mission Series" version that came in a 2-pack with Luke Skywalker in Stormtrooper disguise. Of course, going back to the 1978 original figure is never a bad idea, and they are still widely available. Both of these are pictured here:

photo by Rebelscum.com

For a character as vital to A New Hope as Grand Moff Tarkin it may be hard to believe that the very first Tarkin action figure wasn’t available until 1997, 20 years after his screen debut! Since then there have been other Tarkin toys, always in his trademark uniform, slick hair and humourless expression.

Probably the easiest Tarkin to find of would the the 2005 Revenge of the Sith version. His hair is a little darker, but otherwise he works well for Rogue One purposes.

photo by Rebelscum.com

Princess Leia’s adoptive father, Bail Organa has been made into action figure form more than once but the Revenge of the Sith version is probably the closest to his Rogue One appearance. Like Tarkin, the hair should be a little lighter but otherwise he looks pretty good.

Not exactly the most exciting characters, but vital to the rebellion were General Dodonna and Mon Mothma, seen first in A New Hope and Return of the Jedi respectively. Mon Mothma can be spotted in the background of some moments of Revenge of the Sith but is mostly in scenes that were deleted.